Category: Social Media

One of the biggest benefits I realize with social networks like Facebook is the ability provided to share interesting and useful things I come across. I also enjoy when my connections do the same and find much of what is shared within my networks of great use or interest.

What I would like to help folks with in this post is taking shares to the next level by providing context and paying special attention to what is actually being shared. I would like to use a recent experience with many of my colleagues at Alure Home Improvements as an example.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with the parents association at my sons school about the connected society our children are growing up in and what all of this means. The topic has come to be a hot one with stories like Teen Twits Gone Wild where teenagers were sending inappropriate photos from teen parties to a tweeter that was maintaining a twitter account exposing the crazy things these kids were doing at high school parties. This naturally created a public outcry that was directed in many directions including the schools these children attend, the person running the twitter account to the parents.

I would like to share the presentation that I gave to the parents at my sons school as well as explain some of the points that I raise.

Why are kids so connected?

Because they can be. It is so easy to create accounts on social networks and many children are doing so without their parents knowledge.

FOMO – fear of missing out! What is happening on social networks often becomes part of the face to face discussion our kids are having during their school day. It’s only natural that they want to become a part of the online discussion.

Social Credibility – much of the outrageous content kids are posting on social are posted to gain likes, shares, comments and other reactions that seem to make the posts popular or credible.

The 3rd Long Island Digital Summit took place on Tuesday April 15th presented by the folks at EGC Group. Here are just a handful of the many great points shared throughout the day along with my added thoughts.

Brands need to change and adapt to consumers wants and needs. (@shingy)

The connected society provides the ability for brands to be active in the very fluid discussions happening online. How brands approach this is critical. Users live in their newsfeeds and the discussions that are happening there have a certain tone. Become too pitchy or promotional you can count on people using the many filters at their disposal to mute you or just disconnect all together. Nurture and value online relationships and you are likely to do well in digital channels.

First screen is now mobile. No one walked in here with a TV today. (@shingy)

The line of the day if you ask me! What a visual this created, but think of how true this is. We spend so much time on our smart phones, it is said the average person unlocks their phone 150 times a day, how could we still consider a TV as the “first screen”? As brands and organizations we need to figure out ways to be useful and blend in with the activities users perform on their mobile phones.

Mobile allows brands to be connected and present with users throughout every moment. (@shingy)

We carry around so much computing power in our pockets these days that empowers us in so many ways. It is also very powerful for brands to be in the moment with users. A brands opportunity to becoming useful is not always within the framework of their business or product. We often need to be in a SOLOMO state of mind in order to be useful. SO = social, LO = local, MO = mobile.

It truly is amazing how much technology has turned our worlds upside down and I love it! Gone are the days where I have to depend on big media outlets for news as the information important to me just happens to find me through connections I value and trust. I really enjoy the science and psychology of social networks, but the human element is what really moves me. I would like to share some of my favorite thoughts from some brilliant folks and expand a bit on those thoughts. Hopefully this adds to how you approach and value social networks.

“Social media puts the “public” into PR and the “market” into marketing.” – Chris Brogan

The social community has access to the greatest source of information of all time, each other. The public is having discussions about all sorts of topics including a brand or organization you may care deeply about. If you want to have a voice in those conversations, as a brand or individual, you need to become a part of it and be prepared to be active and authentic in an effort to earn the communities trust.

What you feed your network or audience is directly related to what you can expect in return. Gone are the days of convince and convert, it has now shifted to converse and convert. The Internet has moved from a network of computers and machines to a network of people. The network has more to say about your reputation than you do.

The technology is nothing more than a vehicle for enhancing relationships. It is not the relationship and does not dismiss the need for real life, face to face relationships.

Having read Mashable’s Boston Police Schooled Us All on Social Media, it really brings to light the incredible job the Boston PD’s social media team did as well as the valuable lessons their actions provided. The Boston PD has been active in social networks long before the tragic events of April 15, 2013 and that prepared them for effective and proactive use when it was needed most! Community relations is such a huge component for any public facing organization. I would like to take a moment and share some of my observations on the points made in the Mashable article.

Tweeting isn’t new for Boston Police

A look at the Boston PD Twitter profile shows that the account is very active and engaged while looking to be useful to followers and visitors to the city. Being so active allows the people that actually manage the account to create a blended voice for the online brand while developing an online identity. The active presence also allows them to get a feel for context and how to speak in the appropriate tone for any given situation. Once the attacks happened at the marathon, this experience provided the foresight to be on top of the online discussion and be ready to correct any misinformation or posting of info that may compromise the pursuit of the then suspects. Being the go to source for accurate information could only happen if the team managing the social channels had a seat at the table and access to important information as it became available. The fact that they had been so active leading up to the 15th probably displayed to the PD leadership the potential value in a crisis situation.